Beautiful Monster
by XxTheSweetestTabooxX
Summary: After being expelled from a very prestigious demon hunting academy, 17 year-old Misfit decides to start her life over again. When she hears two men talking about a demon that lives up in the mansion on the hill, she takes matters into her own hands. She meets Edward; it's an unlikely friendship. But a meddling demon father and nosy neighbors could get in the way.
1. Mad World

_"And I find it kind of funny_.  
_I find it kind of sad_.  
_The dreams in which I'm dying_  
_Are the best I've ever had_."  
_***********************_

_We're in a clearing. A ring of raging, black fire surrounds us, leaving nowhere for us to run or hide. We have no choice but to fight. Rueben places his hand on his sword and crouches, ready to strike. I load my pistols with silver bullets I crafted just for this day. The day I would have to face my fears and fight my demon father, Legion. From the day I was born, he caused me pain and made it very clear he did not want anything to do with me. Now, it was time for revenge, and boy was it sweet. _

_ Rueben and I are both ready. Nothing can take us by surprise, for we are the best in our year. Then, from out of nowhere, I hear, "Misfit, watch out!" Rueben pushes me out of the way, and I hear a sickening sound as a large blade goes straight through his chest. Blood dripped from his mouth; I knew he was dead, but I didn't want to believe t._

_ "RUEBEN!" I screamed, rushing over to him. As I caressed his face, I felt an ice-cold hand grasp my shoulder. I turned around and saw-_

I woke up with a start. _Just a dream, _I told myself. _Just a dream. _But it was the same dream. The dream I had been having ever since the end of my fifth year. There would be different variations of this dream, but they all ended the same way: Rueben would die. And it was always my fault. It would always be. _I _was supposed to die that day, not Rueben. Besides, by letting him die, I had broken the first rule of being a demon hunter at Ivory Academy: I had let my comrade die during a mission. I had been expelled from Ivory Academy, but no one knew how bad I felt about Rueben dying. You see, he wasn't just my comrade. He was my other half. My first and last love. Tears streamed down my face as I thought about the first kiss we had shared. It was before we were about to carry out our mission; I'd had second thoughts about going.

"Misfit," he'd said tenderly, cupping my face in his warm hands, "no matter what, I'm going to stick with you and fight with you and for you throughout this entire mission. And if anything happens to me, you cannot blame yourself." Then he'd kissed me.

"You taste like peppermint," I laughed. He grinned and pulled me in close for another kiss.

"You taste like strawberries," he chuckled. _Oh, Rueben, _I thought, _I blame myself every day. _I would rather die and have Rueben live and be happy than for me to live with his death every day. I glanced over at my clock. It was four. How was it possible for me to have slept in that late?

"Damn it," I muttered underneath my breath. I had to go into work at four-thirty today. The bar opened up at five. I quickly jumped out of bed and pulled on my work clothes-which were completely degrading in my opinion-and fixed my hair. I smeared on some lip gloss and put on some eye shadow. I grabbed the keys to my motorcycle and headed out. I caught a glance of my reflection in the mirror and was revolted. I looked like a hooker, for Pete's sake. Well, it was all "part of the job," as said by my completely disgusting and sexist manager. I put on my helmet and jacket and climbed onto my motorcycle. As I passed the skate park, I got hoots and whistles from some of the boys who were always there when I would ride to work. I sighed. It was going to be a _long _day.

•••

Eight hours full of obnoxious, drunk people later, it was finally closing time. I was cleaning out glasses when two burly men burst in, totally oblivious to the fact that it was past closing. Their loud conversation made my huge headache even worse. I usually brought Aspirin with me, but for some reason, I had forgotten it today. I couldn't help but tune into their irritatingly loud conversation.

"…And so I looked up, and I saw some weirdo looking down at me. And he had all scissors for hands! I swear man, it was him. That monster guy that Talia's grandmom, Old Lady Esmeralda, had always talked about. The weird thing is, though, he some chick said he was dead." Wait a minute…Talia? That name sounded very familiar. Then I remembered who she was. Talia was the current headmistress of Ivory Academy. How the hell did they know her?

"Yeah man," the other man agreed, "crazy Esmeralda said he was a demon or something like that. Can you believe that crap? There's no such thing as 'demons.'" I bit down on my tongue to keep from yelling. Did they have any idea of how ignorant they sounded right now? I chuckled softly to myself. Probably not. I decided to do a bit of investigating. If this "weirdo" actually was a demon, I could kill him and possible be re-accepted into Ivory Academy.

"Hey, um, so what's all this talk about demons for? I'd like to hear about it," I said in my best flirtatious voice. I sounded so fake; I almost made myself throw up. They scoffed at me and returned to their conversation. _So I guess we're going to have to do this Misfit's way, huh? _I grabbed one of the men by the color and put my face close to his. I made my eyes become a bright red.

"I swear to God, or whatever deity that you pray to, if you don't tell me where that demon lives, I will make you die a thousand slow and painful deaths. And believe me, I very capable of doing it," I hissed. A scared expression came across his and his friend's face. I wanted badly to laugh, but I had to stay in character. The man whose collar I was holding swallowed and spoke up.

"Hey, we're sorry. Didn't mean to offend you. Uh, he uh, lives in that big castle-looking place behind Suburbia. It's really big and black. You can't miss it." I smirked and let his collar go, making him fall. I grabbed my jacket, helmet, and keys and headed out.

"Thanks so much for helping boys. You've been a big help." I slammed the door shut behind me and climbed onto my motorcycle. _This is for you, Rueben, _I thought as I started it up and headed towards my chance to be redeemed. And that chance was called Suburbia.

•••

I got more than a few odd looks as I passed through the pastel neighborhood. I felt quite out of place, but I kept on riding. As I passed a peach-colored house, a woman there got me to stop. I pulled on the brake and took of my helmet. She smiled at me politely. Her high pitched voice and her Southern drawl made me want to cringe.

"Are you going to that mansion up there?" I nodded.

"Yes. And if that's all you wanted to ask, I'll be on my way." There was an edge to my voice; the woman obviously heard it. She simply kept smiling. _Please don't ask me if I want to come in. _

"Would you like to come inside for a bit? There's something you need to know about what's up there in that mansion." I tried hard not to groan. Did she not see that I had no time to chat and stay for lemonade?

"Sorry ma'am, but I know what I'm doing. I've had plenty of experience with things like whatever is up there in that mansion." I started pulling on my gloves. "Now if you excuse me, I must be on my way." I put on my helmet and rode off, leaving a trail of asphalt behind me. She probably thought I was rude and arrogant, but I didn't care. I had stopped caring about what people said or thought about me after Rueben died. Nothing mattered to me anymore after that.

Now, I do care. I care about getting rid of the demon up in that mansion and bringing back honor to my name. Prove to the world that I wasn't a total screw-up. And once I did, I would finally be able to go to sleep at night without the guilty feeling I always had. It would always be my fault that Rueben died, but at least I would feel less guilty, knowing that I had done the right thing for once.

I had to snap myself back into reality as I saw the winding path up to the mansion. Deep thought and motorcycles did not mix very well. I had to slow down, or else I would fall right over the edge. And that wouldn't do me any good. Finally, I came to a large, black gate. It looked about a hundred years old. Maybe even older. I hopped off my motorcycle and opened the gate. As I did, it made an eerie creaking sound. To get a better look, I took off my helmet.

There were dozens of magnificent figures made out of shrubbery. There was a dinosaur, a large hand, and a mythical sea creature. Whoever made the figures had to have had a vast imagination. No demon could possibly be capable of this. Regular demons-the Level Five ones, that is-had a very small mental capacity. Even Level Ones could not be capable of doing this. Even more of a reason for me to investigate.

Two large, wooden doors stood before me. I gave them a little push and they opened, making a worse creaking noise than the gates did. I looked around. Although there was very little lighting, I could see numerous contraptions that looked like they had not been touched in ages. They were odd yet fascinating. I wanted to explore the machines further, but I heard a thump upstairs that seemed quite suspicious. I went up the tall, winding staircase and was tired by the time I got up there. A huge hole was on the side of the roof. I was surprised that this place was still standing. It looked like it was about to just crumble to the ground.

"Kim, is that you?" a scared, timid voice asked. It was obviously male. Who was Kim, though? Was she someone he had known long ago, or was she just a part of his imagination. I walked over to where I heard the voice coming from. I could make out a figure; surprisingly, it was…human.

"Who's Kim?" I asked, getting closer. He noticed me approaching him and stepped into the light. He was as pale as a ghost, his hair was a black, tangled mess, and he seemed to have multiple knives in his hands. I took a step back.

"Y-you're not Kim!" he exclaimed, recoiling his hands. By doing so, he accidentally cut his cheek. He winced; I saw tears roll down his cheeks. I bit my lip. I started to feel bad for him. I shook my head. _It's a trick! He's trying to get me to let my guard down. _The way he sounded though…he seemed innocent and naïve. I took a deep breath and approached him. I touched his face; he winced once more.

"Um, can you tell me your name?" His response was barely above a whisper.

"Edward." I grabbed a napkin from my back pocket and wiped the blood off of his face.

"I'm Misfit. Misfit Maddgen. Are those your, erm, hands?" I nodded towards the scissors. He looked down.

"I'm not finished."

"Are you the only person up here?" He nodded.

"My father…he wouldn't wake up. And then Peg took me to her home and…I just have to stay up here now. I've done a lot of bad things." I smiled slightly.

"I guess that makes two of us." _Wait a minute. Why did I feel bad for him? He probably wasn't even human. You need to kill him, Misfit. _I grasped the handle of my pocket knife that was in my pocket.

"I was too different, too. The world…I guess it wasn't ready for me." I loosened my grip on the handle. "And that's probably why she never came back to see me."

"Who's 'she?'"

"Kim." I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. Even though he was very different from me, he was also very similar. We were both lonely and rejected people. We both had lost someone that had meant everything to us.

"Um, maybe you could come and stay with me for a little while. Maybe the world is ready for people like you." He looked up at me, his eyes full of hope. "Besides, I think we have a lot in common."

**...**

**End of the first chapter! Booyah! **

**I started this Fanfic over the summer, and for some reason, I just abandoned it. I found the notebook I had written it in and thought, "Why didn't I finish this?" So, now I'm finishing it. **

****I'm going to be switching between Misfit's and Edward's POVs a lot, so be prepared for the confusion. **


	2. Faint

_"I am a little bit of loneliness, a little bit of disregard_  
_Handful of complaints but I can't help the fact that everyone can see these scars_.  
_I am what I want you to want, what I want you to feel_  
_But it's like no matter what I do, I can't convince you, to just believe this is real_.  
_So I let go, watching you, turn your back like you always do_.  
_Face away and pretend that I'm not_  
_But I'll be here 'cause you're all that I got."_

My hands seemed to have a mind of their own as I furiously worked at the sculpture. Tiny flakes of ice fell on my eyelashes. My warm tears melted them away as I thought about her. Thought about the promise she'd made and broken. _Why do you do this to me?_ I thought, _why do you torture me so? _Every time I hear a creak in the floorboards, I call out your name, believing it's you. Whenever I close my eyes, I see your beautiful face smiling at me.

I stepped back and examined my work. I had made yet _another _sculpture of her. I just stood there and waited for something to happen. Waited, wished, for the sculpture to become real. I shook my head. _No. She's never coming back. _Why would she want to anyways? You're a monster. No one could ever love a monster like you. I scowled and pushed the sculpture through the large hole in the roof. It made a loud sound as it hit the hard, stone floor. Pieces of ice, both large and small, were scattered everywhere. Each shard represented memories we had shared that were now lost forever.

I looked around outside and saw a man looking up at me, a look of horror upon his face. He said something inaudible and ran away. _Why? Why was I so monstrous? _I scorned the day I had been created. Why couldn't I just be normal? Why couldn't I just be loved? I dragged my scissors across the wall. The horrid noise soothed me somehow. It made my mind go completely blank. I felt calmer, more at ease. I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. I touched my face and accidentally cut myself.

I winced and watched as the blood slowly trickled down my face. Was it possible for me to be so monstrous that I even hurt myself? I looked at the cut and other ones I'd given myself over the years. Yes. Yes I was.

•••

It was about midnight. I hadn't been able to sleep (this wasn't unusual), so in an attempt to get myself to fall asleep, I decided to gaze at the stars through the hole in the window. I then heard a strange noise. It sounded like the door being opened. A few minutes later, I heard someone climbing up the stairs. I held my breath and quickly darted into a dark corner. I watched as a mysterious person looked around the room in awe. It looked like a girl. The only thing that was going through my mind was, _Kim. _That's all I could think about. The girl glanced over in my direction. Wait a minute…something about her face wasn't right. Just to be sure, I called out Kim's name.

In response, I got a, "Who's Kim?" Once again, something did not seem right. This time, it was her voice. I stepped into the light to get a better look. I expected her to jump back, but she did not move at all. She had long, black hair that reminded me of a raven. Her violet eyes stared me down; there was not an ounce of fear in them. As a matter of fact, I did not see any emotion in them whatsoever.

"Y-you're not Kim!" I exclaimed, stepping back. I accidentally cut my face with my scissors. I started to cry. I felt embarrassed to do so in front of her, but I couldn't help it. I had officially lost all hope in ever seeing Kim again. She outstretched her hand and touched my face. I stiffened up. Why wasn't she scared? Why wasn't she running away?

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked gently. Was she blind? Could she not see the monster standing right in front of her? Maybe it was the poor lighting.

"Edward," I said very quietly. She took a napkin out of her pocket and wiped the blood off of my face. I was slightly taken aback by her kind gesture. It had been a while since someone had been kind to me.

"I'm Misfit. Misfit Maddegen." She nodded towards my scissors. "Are those your, erm, hands?" I knew that question was coming. I looked down at them, remembering the evil they'd done.

"I'm not finished." She looked a little confused, but the look soon went away. I guessed she didn't like showing her emotions.

"Are you the only person up here?" I nodded, expecting that question also.

"My father…he wouldn't wake up. And Peg took me to her home and…" My thoughts started to trace back to Kim. I sighed. "I just have to stay up here now. I've done a lot of bad things." She smiled; I felt my heart melt.

"I guess that makes two of us." Before I could stop myself from talking, my mouth began to open.

"The world…I guess it wasn't ready for me." A look of understanding came across her face; it disappeared as soon as it appeared. Once again, the only thing I could think about was Kim. "And that's probably why she never came back to see me."

"Who's 'she?'"

"Kim." She ran her fingers through her black hair and sighed. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something. I wished I could know what she was thinking about.

"Um, maybe you could come and stay with me for a little while. Maybe the world is ready for people like you." I looked at her skeptically. A smile played on her lips. "Besides, I think we have a lot in common." I started to feel somewhat hopeful. Someone actually cared about me. Maybe it was time to let Kim go. It hurt to do so, but I loved Kim enough to let her go. I had to do it.

"Okay," I answered. She grinned and tied her hair back in a ponytail.

And maybe by letting Kim go, I could let someone new in.

**The next few chapters will consist of the following: lots of awkward moments, "getting to know you," and most importantly, Pop-Tarts.**  
** I'm being serious. Yes, Pop-Tarts. I will talk about Pop-Tarts so much, you'll want to get up and buy some. I am seriously being serious.**

**Seriously.**


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